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3.8.2. WORLDVIEW

Worldview refers to how we see the world with its varied cultural differences. Most
people develop worldviews from childhood. Worldview can affect intercultural communication
because we cannot open up to people who have different worldviews from us. We judge other

people‟s worldviews because they are different. You should not be ethnocentric, thinking about
other cultures solely by the values of one‟s own culture. Then we miss the opportunity of getting
to know and appreciate other people‟s worldviews.

“A stereotype is a generalization about a person and originates when one is unwilling to
obtain all the information needed to make a fair judgment about other people, and

Prejudice refers to a baseless and usually negative attitude toward members of a group”
(Carson, 2002).

Everybody has his or her own worldview. Worldviews are different and unique; thus, no

one should claim that his or her worldview is superior to another‟s. We should learn to
understand, tolerate, respect, and accept each other‟s worldviews, to be able to communicate
effectively in an intercultural setting.

3.8.3. IMPORTANCE OF WORLD VIEW IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Any attempt to improve communication or expand our material resources will fail if we

have fundamentally different interpretations of reality, because we may not be addressing our
deeper differences that continue to drive disputes.

 Working effectively across cultures requires an understanding of the basics from which

cultures emerge – the seedbed known as worldviews.

 Worldviews can be resources for understanding and analysing conflicts in global
business communication.

 By observing people from different culture, we can learn efficiently and deeply about
group members‟ identities in culture.

 Worldviews, with their embedded meanings, can be the source from which new shared
communication can be evolved.

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